Leonard Fein
By Leonard Fein
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Opinion The Kingdom of Judea vs. the State of Israel
At second blush, it seems the work of a lunatic fringe. First blush, of course, is the actual explosion of the pipe bomb that lightly wounded Professor Ze’ev Sternhell, an internationally renowned political scientist and a winner this year of the Israel Prize. That happened around midnight on Thursday, September 25, just outside Sternhell’s home…
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Opinion Judaism: Our System of Vocational Education
Some weeks ago, I concluded a column with these words: …we need to find a compelling way to finish the sentence that begins with the words, “It is important that the Jewish people survive in order to…” In order to what? There is, I believe, one core idea that defines us and could, perhaps, bring…
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Opinion The Politics of Resentment and Derision
Two unconventional convention afterthoughts: 1) We are witness to a manipulated politics of resentment. The American small town, mythic seat of uncorrupted virtue, is now, post-Palin, juxtaposed to the sinful big city. We have that from no less an authority than Rudy Giuliani, odd though it may seem coming from a cross-dressing adulterer who is…
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Opinion This Much We Know: Alaskans Love Israel
But where does she stand on Israel? The question, of course, is directed at John McCain’s choice for vice president of the United States. Please note well: This is neither an endorsement of Sarah Palin nor a refutation of the Alaskan governor’s candidacy. The readers of this paper are perfectly competent to make their own…
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Opinion No Time Nor Patience for Cynicism
I know, I know: The Summer Olympics were then, the Democratic Convention is now. But I find it hard to let go of the Olympics, and not just because of my flickering fantasy of yet becoming a gymnast. Not only because I don’t expect soon to forget the neo-fascist opening ceremony, so utterly and eerily…
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Opinion We Are All Implicated in the World’s Repair
There’s considerable talk these days about Jewish peoplehood. Is the sense of it sustainable? For that matter, is it still alive? And on what foundation does it rest? What is it that connects one Jew to another? And what connects the two largest communities of Jews, here in America and there in Israel, to one…
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Opinion Singing in Israel’s Ears Till She Opens Her Eyes
Love, as we all know, is a many-splendored thing. Whatever that means. Actually, “many-splendored” calls to mind “irritable bowel syndrome,” one of those terms you make up as a catch-all for something you can’t explain. And love is difficult if not impossible to explain or even define, as witness the range between Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s…
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Opinion On the Same Side as Common Decency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently published a lengthy expose, the gist of which was that some grantees of the New Israel Fund “accuse the Jewish state of horrendous human rights violations.” The principle piece of evidence of NIF’s alleged perfidy is that “In March 2007, eight groups that promote human rights for Israeli Arabs and…
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